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(1962) proposed that physiological arousal along with
cognitive appraisal are both essential for emotion to
result. They suggested that some event or condition creates
physiological arousal which is combined with evaluation of
the event or condition (cognitive appraisal) to lead to the
experience of emotion.
Central to appraisal theories is the view that the
experience of any emotion (i.e., joy, anger, fear) involves
the same physiological arousal, but different cognitive
appraisals. Lazarus and Averill (1972) explained that
emotion results from appraisal of stimuli and the
formulation of a response. In their view, appraisal reduces
and organizes stimulus input to a specific concept, (e.g., a
threat). Lazarus and Averill also asserted that personal
psychological structure and social norms also influence
appraisal. Most importantly, they concluded that appraisal
determines the specific emotional experience. For example,
anger has been associated with the perception of goal
obstacles, whereas fear is associated with perceived
uncertainty about and unpleasant situation (Ellsworth &
Smith, 1988) However, these theorists place little or no
emphasis on neural hardware which might underlie or
contribute to appraisal.
Differential Emotion Theory
The Differential Emotion Theory was developed by
Tomkins (1962, 1963) who proposed that awareness of